It was understandable that Abigail’s parents and Sir Moize would be worried.

After all, Cronenberg was an incredibly weak country compared to Nergen. But, honestly… 

Do you actually think I can pop out a child just because I want to, you fool? Sabelian doesn’t love me, nor do I, him. And last I heard, making a child is a co-op game, not singleplayer! Granted, I have never actually wanted one to begin with, so the thought of not conceiving a child is more than welcome in my head. Sir Moize became a little suspicious when he found that I had not responded to him. “You’re still not being hated by him, are you?”

“Of course not. We’re on very good terms together.”

“Really?”

“Really.” I decided to push through with the power of sheer bullheadedness. It wasn’t like he’d be able to say otherwise anyway. What’s important right now is…bluffing! Just like how I did every thanksgiving!

Sir Moize stared at me for a moment before putting up a smile, “So I’ll finally be able to see you two dance.”

Eh? Wait a second. Sir Moize’s eyes instantly turned sharp when I couldn’t answer him immediately. “Could it be…you were lying about the relationship?”

“O-of course you’ll be able to see us dance. Why would I lie?”

“I see. Then I’ll be looking forward to it.” Indeed, Sir Moize looked incredibly happy.

Oh dear, oh dear. I think I just dug myself a very deep grave.

***

Sabelian felt a strange chill run down his neck. At the same time, he felt a tiny itch on his right ear, making him scratch it subconsciously.

“Is something wrong, Your Majesty?”

“It’s nothing. I just felt cold for a second.” Sabelian replied as he entered the garden. Millard followed closely behind him. It was a little warm, but perfect weather for a walk, regardless. Come to think of it, Blanche and Abigail had been taking walks together here as well. He did see them once. It was a sight he would never have imagined seeing just half a year ago.

“It seems you’ve been on good terms with the queen recently.” Millard interrupted his thoughts, sounding annoyed. Sabelian found himself pausing in his step for a second, “I’m just eating with her every once in a while. Plus, you were happy that I would be eating with Blanche as well, if you recall.”

Millard sighed. “It’s good that you’re getting close with the princess, but…I still find it difficult to trust the queen.” As a knight of the royal family, his top priority was always the safety of Sabelian and Blanche.

“The nutmeg incident is still very suspicious to me,’ he continued, ‘Yes, Miss Jeremie confessed, but…I find it strange that the queen was the one to eat the food.”

“You believe Abigail had a hand in this matter?”

“She did voluntarily consume poison once, after all.” In Millard’s eyes, Abigail was evil and would always remain that way. Every action of hers, even those considered mundane and normal, he considered as potentially malicious and foul. This was a woman who had been so jealous of the little princess that she’d used violence to hurt her. If someone could resort to such terrible actions, there was no way they would suddenly change just like that.

Which was precisely why he was not a fan of how Sabelian was acting nowadays. To think the king would be on good terms with that woman…It was almost as if he’d been charmed by a witch. Sabelian noticed Millard’s expression hardening and decided to speak after a moment of thought, “It’s not like I actually trust Abigail. Though I do find it foolish to be suspicious of her when Miss Jeremie confessed already.”

“…Yes, you are correct, Your Majesty.” Millard finally said. Sabelian found himself pondering the matter a little bit more. He must’ve looked very close to Abigail for Millard to be this worried.

Did he like Abigail? No, not at all. He was more…curious about her, if anything.

Abigail’s facial expressions seemed to be changing as fast as the summer weather recently, challenging all he thought he knew of her. It was rather interesting to watch. In fact, the reason why he started eating with her in the first place was exactly because of that. He remembered the incident when she’d grabbed hold of his face and his fingers reached up to stroke his cheek at the memory.

As he was thinking to himself, a servant approached him hurriedly. “Your Majesty, the queen requests a meeting with you.”

“Abigail?” He could see Abigail standing at the entrance of the garden. When Sabelian nodded, Abigail immediately made her way towards him. She greeted him courteously but expressionlessly. “Have you been well, Your Majesty? And thank you for all your hard work, Sir Millard.”

Millard nodded at her politely. The man never bothered to speak with Abigail. Back in the day, Millard used to angrily tell the woman off for her manners. It even got to the point where Abigail would visit Sabelian just to ask that Millard be fired. But recently, Abigail didn’t even seem to care anymore in the least, like now, “I’d like to speak in private, is that alright with you?”

“Of course. Millard, if you would.” Millard clearly wasn’t pleased with the situation, but he still complied. He watched the two talk from afar. It was a particularly bright, sunny day. The bonnet on Abigail’s head cast a dark shadow over her face. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Um, well…” Abigail hesitated for a second, “I’d like you to dance with me during the festival this year.”

“Dance?” He echoed. Abigail nodded. She seemed pretty nervous, “I know that you dislike dancing, but…things have gotten a little troublesome for me this time around.”

“What happened?”

“A messenger came from Cronenberg.” Sabelian could guess what had happened. Abigail’s family must’ve been pressuring her. After all, the one who’d be in trouble without a child was Abigail, not Sabelian. Sabelian had Blanche.

Blanche wasn’t a boy, but he should still be able to make it work out one way or the other. But for Abigail, not so much. A queen without a child was bound to have a lot of bad rumors surrounding her. “My family seems to think we are unable to have a child because of our relationship.”

Abigail’s face seemed particularly dark. Was it because of the shadow?… “I denied it, but…they didn’t seem to believe me. That’s why…”

“If we don’t dance, the rumors about you would just get worse.” He finished for her. Abigail nodded once more. Sabelian didn’t say anything for a while. This wasn’t the first time she had asked him to dance with her. In fact, Abigail had begged him for a dance at least once last year as well. It was the same request, essentially. But….it also felt different.

Was it because of her eyes? Before her ‘death’, Abigail’s eyes had always been full of greed. He detested them, for they reminded him of that woman’s eyes.

Eyes that seemed to want to swallow him whole, consume him and never let him go.

But her eyes this time left a different impression on him. They were the same purple eyes, but they had somehow changed in essence. The greed from last year was nowhere to be seen. Instead, they were filled with worry. Perhaps that was why he did not feel annoyed at her request unlike the last time. But even so…

“I’m sorry.” Sabelian apologized. He thought about explaining why he couldn’t dance, but he ended up swallowing the words back. He did not believe she would understand, so he decided to lie, “I dislike dancing because of my lack of skill for it.”

“Ah…I see. Would you like to practice together, then?” Abigail’s rejoinder was so natural and innocent, catching Sabelian so off guard that he found himself unable to react properly from shock.

“We might as well practice if you’re bad at it. We still have plenty of time.” She seemed dead serious. It would have been much easier for him had she been shocked, or if she had laughed at him instead…

“…Practice, you say.” He finally murmured.

“Yes. I haven’t danced in a while either, so I need it as well.” She said matter-of-factly. Sabelian hesitated when he turned to face her properly. He could not detect any hidden motive or malicious intent from her so far but at the same time, he did not like dancing. In fact, one could even say he greatly disliked dancing. Thus, he decided he could just say no to her like always.

“Dancing…” He started to say but trailed off, for Abigail was looking up at him. Her concerned face looked so innocent, and her eyes were incredibly bright and clear under the sun. He swallowed. He had to refuse ​that face​? He found it very difficult to answer her directly.

“…I’ll think about it.” He finally managed a proper response. To Abigail, however, it sounded like a plain refusal. A moment of awkward silence passed. Her gaze flitted around for a moment before she responded politely, “Yes, I understand. I’m sorry for asking you to do something like this. I’ll take my leave now, Your Majesty.”

Abigail turned away to leave. Sabelian did not understand why, but he could not take his eyes off her back until she had completely disappeared.

***

“To the left, and then turn straight to the right…yes, very good, princess!” Blanche stepped forward with her left foot in rhythm with the music. She was dancing, her features set with concentration.

It was a very energetic dance with a light, cheery music, definitely meant for a child. Normally, they would have her dancing to an actual band, but this time they had to settle for a music box. Blanche was skipping around lightly to the music. She seemed like a little doll straight out of a movie.

I had placed several mirrors all around the room so that Verite would be able to record this. She is SO adorable. I really should watch this whenever I’m feeling depressed. As soon as the music box stopped playing, Clara and Blanche stopped as well. Blanche bowed to Clara as an acknowledgement to the song ending. I found myself jumping from my seat to clap without thinking twice.

“Amazing! Absolutely spectacular! Surely you’ll be the one to shine the most during this year’s festival!” I burst out. Surely? Of course that’d be the case! No one is as cute as Blanche in the whole wide world! Blanche bowed towards me with reddened cheeks, “T-thank you, Miss Abigail…even though I’m still so bad at it…”

“No no, you were great. Wasn’t she, Clara?”

“Yes! Of course! Princess Blanche is the cutest in the kingdom!” Ohoho, it seems my love for Blanche has been spreading recently. To think even Clara has finally started to fathom the depths of her cuteness… B-U-T you’ve still got a ways to go, Clara. Blanche isn’t the cutest in the kingdom…She’s the cutest girl in the world!! I silently beamed at the two with pride. Clara, meanwhile, turned to speak to Norma, “You think so too, right, Norma? That Princess Blanche is just the cutest!”

“…Calling someone who’s your master ‘cute’ is just rude, Clara.” Norma spoke with a very cold voice. Well, she wasn’t wrong. Indeed, in any and all other situations, calling your boss ‘cute’ would just be plain rude. Having realized that she had potentially overstepped her position, Clara immediately apologised, “Ah…! I’m sorry, princess. I just…”

“It’s ok, Clara, you were complimenting me.” Blanche smiled faintly, but her face shone as brightly as the sun itself, clearly still happy over receiving praise. Ah, how could a little girl be this cute and well-mannered at the same time…?

“…Actually I’d like to do it better if I can,” She continued hesitantly, “Maybe Father would praise me if I danced well?”